The excerpt offers details of how rudimentary the table, dishes and cutlery were. There is no sophistication; everything about them is rustic - the materials as well as the way they are made. There is wood, horn, pewter. There is a table carved with a broad-axe. There are hunting-knives instead of table knives. If something broke easily - and the author says crockery did -, it was discarded. Durability and usefulness were priorities.
1. Syntax is the part of linguistics that studies the structure and formation of sentences. It explains how words and phrases are arranged to form correct sentences.
An example of a challenge facing the American people during the late 20th and early 21st century is public education. The American democracy depends on an educated and well informed citizenry.
